18 - "Contact" (1997)

    Are there other life forms somewhere in the universe besides Earth? That's a question probably all of us has wondered about at one time or another. This is also a question posed many times in Robert Zemeckis's Contact. One answer given in the movie is "If it's only us...it seems like an awful waste of space." Contact is one of the movies on the list that I feel is hidden and probably not a lot of people have seen it. I hope this will change some minds as this is a tremendous movie that will leave you thinking about its issues long after the credits have finished rolling. It brings up the old science vs religion debate which may turn some people off, but the movie handles it the best way possible. It doesn't take sides and suggests that the two should work hand in hand. That is a very refreshing point-of-view, one I happen to share. Jodie Foster stars as Ellie Arroway, a scientist who studies the cosmos, searching for signals from space. She loses both of her parents at an early age and this has caused her to lose her faith in God. She meets Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a spiritual adviser to the President who believes God is the answer to everything. The two start to develop a relationship but Ellie cannot accept his point-of-view and ends up leaving him. Ellie is struggling with many things and her team is about to lose its funding. She goes out to spend some time by herself listening for signals...and suddenly one appears. Her team frantically goes into action trying to figure out what it is. After eliminating all common probabilities, they can deduce only one thing. This is a signal from another race....I could go into more of the plot here, but this is a movie that should be experienced. This is a film that can be enjoyed no matter what your beliefs are. I think one of the problems with both sides of the faith argument is we don't listen to each other. Ellie and Palmer are like that at first, but they learn to respect each others beliefs, even if they don't share them. That leads to a touching moment late in this film. I give Contact my highest recommendation. If you have skipped this for any reason, please give it a chance. We may never receive contact from another place during our lifetime....but what if we do?